The Citadel: Man’s Hidden Transcript In today’s society, everyone has certain expectations in which to hold up to. Women, for example, are in most cases expected to hold up to a certain feminine “look”. Children are expected to be obedient of their parents. Men are expected to be strong and always in control. They are anticipated to be the backbone of society, never unsure or unconfident. A man is often looked down on if he is seen crying or showing any type of “unmanly emotion”. As a whole, the public does not realize that society has a tremendous impact on the actions of men. Because of these expectations held, men are forced to become the image that the world views as proper. Using James C. Scott’s essay, Domination and the Arts of Resistance, and Susan Faludi’s, The Naked Citadel, the connection between the image that men are expected to maintain by the general public and the behavior of the cadets at the Citadel is revealed. In an attempt to ameliorate the pressure unconsciously applied by society, men have converted the Citadel into their refuge. In the Citadel, man’s hidden transcript was created. A man’s interaction with society where he is in view of the public eye is the public transcript. The interaction of a man within the Citadel’s walls with other cadets becomes man’s hidden transcript. When this situation is looked at from this perspective, society is the dominator and man is the subordinate. All of the actions and occurrences in the Citadel cannot be justified, but explained. The violence, homoeroticism, and domination within the ramparts of the school can be more clearly understood using the terms and ideas of Scott.In an institution such as this one, males can come together and are no longer part of the public transcript. They bond together and to form their own refuge, away from the beliefs that society embraces for them. Here...
